Letters to the Editor | Preach-in on global warming

For people of all faiths and goodwill, children represent new life and hope for the future. U.S. Sen. John Kerry - who has been nominated to serve as U.S. Secretary of State - says that climate change "is one of two or three of the most serious threats our country now faces, if not the most serious" and notes that "future generations are counting on us" to confront it.

As citizens of this great commonwealth, we bring witness to the need for immediate action on climate. We do this because we love God's creation and we love all of God's children.

On election night, President Barack Obama promised to take action on climate change, noting that our children deserve to grow up in a world "that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet."

On the weekend before Valentine's Day, more than a thousand clergy nationwide - including many in Kentucky - will take part in Interfaith Power and Light's National Preach-In on Global Warming. They'll speak from their pulpits and offer programs about the need to protect vulnerable communities worldwide from the impact of climate change. In addition, congregants will send postcards to President Obama asking him to keep his pledge and join our efforts.

'Nuff said

"Fraud: n. a person or thing intended to deceive. Fraudulent: adj. done by or involving fraud; deceitful or dishonest"

All you need to know about the just completed work of the Kentucky Public Pensions Task Force and the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform.

The first recommended full actuarial funding of the state's contribution to the pension systems (which would have prevented the current funding crisis in the first place). The other has neglected to recommend enough revenues to provide the critical public services needed by a vast number of citizens of Kentucky.

You name it, the legislature has under-funded nearly every obligation that it has been tasked to provide. 'nuff said.

MIKE GRAMIG

Former Assistant Chief -

Administrative Services -

Louisville Fire Department -

Louisville 40204 -

Bad parenting

I'm tired of hearing that the massacre in Newtown is being blamed on mental illness. There are thousands and thousands of people in the world with mental illness. Not everybody that has mental illness will commit mass murder. It comes down to how you were raised.

I am blessed that I was raised by parents that didn't put up with any of my stupidity. I see kids being rude and back-talking their parents. When I was a kid, back-talking meant I was getting back-handed. The word timeout was only used during games. That word wasn't in my parents' vocabulary. It's funny to see parents getting on their kids and start counting. Wow, you can count to five while your child dares you to do anything. The only counting that I heard was the number of hits I was getting for disobeying my parents.

Even though kids have mental illness, they're still being guided by their parents or guardians. The real reason that kids act the way they do is lack of discipline and bad parenting. Parents need to wake up.

GEORGE E. ORMEROD, Jr.

Crestwood, Ky. 40014 -

Start with ourselves

I have researched the number of gun owners in the U.S. and found that 25 percent of our 300 million population own firearms; that's 75 million gun owners. Of the roughly 30,000 gun deaths per year in the U.S., only about 13,000 are homicides. The majority of gun deaths are suicides.

Nearly three times as many people are killed in auto accidents every year. Guns are tools just like autos. Used responsibly, any tool can make life easier. If they are used irresponsibly, they can cause great chaos and grief. By far, the greatest number of gun owners and auto owners are responsible people.

Let's look at the mass murders recently. They have taken place in schools, shopping malls, places of worship and the like, all places where weapons are banned by law. Even military installations where weapons are very strictly controlled are not immune to the actions of an irresponsible or irrational person ...

If guns kill people, why don't we lock up the guns instead of the people who pulled the trigger? We didn't blame the truck for killing those Amish family members or the vehicle the drunk was driving when he slaughtered those children on that bus in 1998.

Let's put the blame where it belongs: on us as a society. We have an increasing lack of morals, integrity, character, tolerance and respect. Discipline of ourselves and our children has gone by the wayside. We are becoming a godless society irrespective of what name you call your God. We don't have to look far to find the blame - the nearest mirror will show it plain and clear.

More laws will not make us safer. Only we can. Let's be an example to our children that shows that every person deserves our respect and that human dignity is what sets us apart from all other creatures. Let's start today!

THOMAS E. UREEL

La Grange, Ky. 40031 -

Louisville, Kentucky • Southern Indiana

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Letters to the Editor | Preach-in on global warming

For people of all faiths and goodwill, children represent new life and hope for the future. U.S. Sen. John Kerry ? who has been nominated to serve as U.S. Secretary of State ? says that climate